Readout of the Secretary-General’s meeting with H.E. Mr. Joseph Kabila Kabange

Readout of the Secretary-General’s meeting with H.E. Mr. Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the margins of the 67th Session of the General Assembly

http://www.un.org/sg/offthecuff/index.asp?nid=2549

New York, 27 September 2012

The Secretary-General met today with H.E. Mr. Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The Secretary-General commended President Kabila for his efforts to find a peaceful so-lution to the situation in eastern DRC and welcomed his participation in the High-Level Meeting on eastern DRC.

He expressed concern over reports of continued external support to armed groups in eastern DRC and called for continued dialogue and confidence-building between the DRC and its Great Lakes neighbours to resolve the ongoing crisis, which has brought untold suffering to the civilian population.

They reaffirmed that it was important for all countries in the Great Lakes region to abide by the principle of respect for States’ territorial integrity. They agreed on the need for govern-ance reform and enhanced institution-building in the DRC.

The Secretary-General reiterated the readiness of the United Nations to continue supporting regional initiatives aimed at addressing the situation in eastern DRC.

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